Episode 102. Lies that Tempt the Truth
Wyatt fought back the burning sensation inside him.
Until now, he had thought he had lived solely to protect Lacrahan.
But in the end, he had put him in danger at the most crucial moment, and for something he didn't have to do.
"This is driving me crazy."
As he was being dragged to the dungeon, the image of Bercheria blocking his way kept flashing through his mind.
"How embarrassing."
Even though Wyatt had ruined everything, Lacrahan didn't even get angry.
He simply told him it would be best if he stayed in the room.
"Ah!"
Wyatt felt so frustrated that he wanted to storm out at any moment, but he couldn't break his promise to Lacrahan, so he held back. He had agreed to stay here until things calmed down, so he had to keep that promise.
"Oh, I don't know."
Wyatt ran to the bed and collapsed.
He was lying there blankly, quietly tracing the patterns on the ceiling in his head when suddenly, a commotion was heard outside.
“What’s going on?”
Wyatt got up, ran to the window, and stuck his head out.
He saw a condor so huge it couldn’t fit in his mouth, struggling.
“Wow. What’s that?”
The royal guards surrounded the giant condor and were capturing it with various weapons.
Wyatt stared at the scene, mesmerized, and then spotted Lacrahan and Bercheria sitting in the grass.
The two were precariously hiding behind the bushes, watching the condor being hunted.
“...Isn’t it a little dangerous?”
He didn’t know why the condor was being held here, but he could guess it was the divine beast Lacrahan had once spoken of.
“Yes?”
Wyatt, who had been looking down, suddenly jumped out the window.
He saw one of the royal guards start walking toward them, having heard something.
“No!”
Wyatt, driven by a sense of duty to protect Lacrahan, kicked the door open and stormed out.
He then began to run toward his master.
Lacrahan had told him not to leave the room, but this was a special case, so there was nothing he could do, right?
“I don’t want the Grand Duke to get caught up in something strange.”
However, what Wyatt encountered as he ran, eyebrows furrowed, wasn’t Lacrahan or Bercheria.
“Who are you?”
A large man with blue hair.
It was a face he had never seen before.
The blue-haired man, gazing at Wyatt with slow eyes, furrowed his slanted eyebrows as he spoke.
“It’s you.”
Wyatt’s caterpillar-like eyebrows twitched.
“What are you saying? Do you know me?”
Wyatt raised his head, glaring at the blue-haired man, before a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Could it be Be, Beloveye?”
Blond Bercheria, blue-haired Beloveye, and beast-like Dipper.
These were the characteristics of the three gods who protected the continent.
Aside from Beloveye, who protected Der'Ansis, Wyatt had never heard of any other human with blue hair and eyes.
“That’s right.”
A round sphere, seemingly condensed seawater, descended upon Wyatt.
“I am Beloveye, the god of the sea.”
Wyatt’s mouth fell open.
“Why on earth is the god of the sea in this imperial palace...?”
Then Wyatt wiggled his eyebrows and asked again.
“Did you come because of Belcheria?”
“...”
Behind Beloveye, the cries of Muha, who was being dragged away by the royal knights, could be heard.
While he turned his head to look at it, Wyatt observed Beloveye’s profile.
Although Wyatt had never been defeated by size, the sea god possessed an overwhelming physique.
He had seen a painting of Beloveye from hundreds of years ago in Lacrahan's study.
Beloveye, wielding a trident as massive as his own body and his muscular frame pacifying the sea, was a sight that, even as a fellow man, he couldn't help but admire.
"Amazing."
Wyatt muttered to himself, then, when his eyes met Beloveye's, he craned his neck like a giraffe.
"Do you believe I'm a god?"
Beloveye asked, and Wyatt nodded, his neck almost falling off.
It was quite innocent.
Beloveye exhaled briefly and said,
“Yes. Then let’s get straight to the point. I’m here to tell you why Bercheria approached Lacrahan.”
Wyatt raised his caterpillar-like eyebrows and asked.
“Huh?”
Beloveye’s lips twisted upward.
“Do you believe there is such a thing as coincidence in this world?”
“...Huh?”
“Coincidences continue, and that becomes love that endures no trials or tribulations?”
“...Uh, that...”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Ah, um.”
Wyatt blinked his small eyes repeatedly.
Beloveye continued speaking without hesitation, as if he couldn’t even see Wyatt.
“There is no such feeling in this world, Wyatt. When someone becomes obsessed with another person, there is only one reason.”
“What is that?”
“Greed, revenge, anger, jealousy.”
“Ah!”
The moment he heard those words, Wyatt felt like the emotions he had been feeling were finally being sorted out.
In fact, if you think about it, it was after Bercheria appeared that Lacrahan began to neglect his people.
“Yes, that’s when everything started to go wrong.”
Beloveye waited for a moment as Wyatt muttered to himself.
Then Beloveye held a bottle of red wine in front of Wyatt.
“You just have to feed this to Lacrahan. If you feed it, all the truth will be revealed to you.”
Wyatt accepted the wine with a blank look.
“Really?”
Beloveye smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“So, is this a joke?”
When Laurent pushed the bottle in front of Bercheria, the red liquid sloshed around in the large bottle.
“Drink this and I’ll tell you about Emperor Gerard.”
“...”
Bercheria just stared at the bottle and said nothing.
Laurent, waiting for her answer, wet his parched lips with his tongue.
It was difficult to guess what Bercheria’s expressionless face meant.
His lips were constantly dry from nervousness.
“You don’t like alcohol?”
Bercheria slowly raised her gaze and met Laurent’s crimson eyes.
Her clear, golden eyes briefly studied Laurent, then brushed past him and rested in space.
“I’ve never thought about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alcohol. I’ve never thought about whether I like it or not.”
“Ah.”
Laurent stared blankly at Bercheria, then snickered and smiled.
Why was he so nervous, like an idiot?
Still, he had always thought he knew Bercheria well.
He wasn’t dismissing the time he spent with her as meaningless.
“Bercheria.”
“Yes.”
“Looking back, I feel like I haven’t been acting like myself enough.”
Bercheria raised her beautiful, arched eyebrows, then gently opened them again.
“Never.”
When Laurent looked at her, she lifted her shoulders slightly and added,
“I did think you might be sick, though.”
Laurent burst into hearty laughter.
Then, the tension melted away, and his expression took on a characteristic kindness and composure.
“Alcohol is a good foundation for any story.”
Two small, long wine glasses emerged from under his cloak.
Laurent placed one in front of Bercheria and the other in front of himself and poured wine into them.
“It’s come to this anyway. I was so nervous. Let me tell you what I want to do.”
Laurent gently placed the long stems of the wine glasses between his fingers and pushed them forward toward Bercheria.
“Alcohol even softens the feelings between people.”
The half-filled glass rippled like seawater.
“Just have one. Then you’ll change your mind.”
Laurent added casually, as if nothing had happened.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t drink.”
He smiled, raising his glass in the air.
“Bless my goddess.”
And then he drained his glass in one gulp.
Bercheria looked at the wine in front of her, then she too took it and downed it in one gulp.
A smile spread across Laurent's lips as she stared at her empty glass.
"How is it? Isn't it incredibly delicious?"
"It is."
Laurent poured himself another glass of wine, then shook the bottom of his glass in a circular motion.
“I said I’d tell you the story of Gerard while we drank, but the truth is, it’s Bercheria.”
Laurent smiled, his red eyes as warm as the sun.
“I wanted to tell you the truth about Lacrahan.”
Bercheria’s face changed for the first time.
“Lacrahan?”
Laurent nodded bitterly.
“As you know, I was born with red hair. I can read and hear the language of the gods.”
Bercheria had heard this before.
“That’s largely why I came to Periat with Beloveye. Beloveye hates humans and doesn’t want to communicate with them.”
“I see.”
“That might be why he liked Bercheria more.”
Laurent studied Bercheria’s expression, but her face had returned to its impassive state except when he mentioned Lacrahan’s name.
“On my way here to Periat, I heard a lot of stories about Lacrahan from Beloveye and the Supreme Being.”
“...The Supreme Being? Did you meet him?”
“I guess so. But, well, that’s not important. I’m talking about the truths I learned from Beloveye.”
Laurent pushed his half-filled wine glass in front of her and leaned forward.
“Bercheria. Do you think there’s such a thing as true love in this world?”
Bercheria’s gaze remained steady on Lauren.
"Bercheria. I'm sorry, but there is no true love in this world. It always has another purpose."
Lauren filled Bercheria's empty glass to the brim with wine.
Then he offered it to her again.
"Lacrahan wants to use you to become a god again, Bercheria."
Laurent's fingertips, which had been pushing the wine glass, collided with Bercheria's white knuckles, which were lying defenselessly on the table.
Wyatt fought back the burning sensation inside him.
Until now, he had thought he had lived solely to protect Lacrahan.
But in the end, he had put him in danger at the most crucial moment, and for something he didn't have to do.
"This is driving me crazy."
As he was being dragged to the dungeon, the image of Bercheria blocking his way kept flashing through his mind.
"How embarrassing."
Even though Wyatt had ruined everything, Lacrahan didn't even get angry.
He simply told him it would be best if he stayed in the room.
"Ah!"
Wyatt felt so frustrated that he wanted to storm out at any moment, but he couldn't break his promise to Lacrahan, so he held back. He had agreed to stay here until things calmed down, so he had to keep that promise.
"Oh, I don't know."
Wyatt ran to the bed and collapsed.
He was lying there blankly, quietly tracing the patterns on the ceiling in his head when suddenly, a commotion was heard outside.
“What’s going on?”
Wyatt got up, ran to the window, and stuck his head out.
He saw a condor so huge it couldn’t fit in his mouth, struggling.
“Wow. What’s that?”
The royal guards surrounded the giant condor and were capturing it with various weapons.
Wyatt stared at the scene, mesmerized, and then spotted Lacrahan and Bercheria sitting in the grass.
The two were precariously hiding behind the bushes, watching the condor being hunted.
“...Isn’t it a little dangerous?”
He didn’t know why the condor was being held here, but he could guess it was the divine beast Lacrahan had once spoken of.
“Yes?”
Wyatt, who had been looking down, suddenly jumped out the window.
He saw one of the royal guards start walking toward them, having heard something.
“No!”
Wyatt, driven by a sense of duty to protect Lacrahan, kicked the door open and stormed out.
He then began to run toward his master.
Lacrahan had told him not to leave the room, but this was a special case, so there was nothing he could do, right?
“I don’t want the Grand Duke to get caught up in something strange.”
However, what Wyatt encountered as he ran, eyebrows furrowed, wasn’t Lacrahan or Bercheria.
“Who are you?”
A large man with blue hair.
It was a face he had never seen before.
The blue-haired man, gazing at Wyatt with slow eyes, furrowed his slanted eyebrows as he spoke.
“It’s you.”
Wyatt’s caterpillar-like eyebrows twitched.
“What are you saying? Do you know me?”
Wyatt raised his head, glaring at the blue-haired man, before a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Could it be Be, Beloveye?”
Blond Bercheria, blue-haired Beloveye, and beast-like Dipper.
These were the characteristics of the three gods who protected the continent.
Aside from Beloveye, who protected Der'Ansis, Wyatt had never heard of any other human with blue hair and eyes.
“That’s right.”
A round sphere, seemingly condensed seawater, descended upon Wyatt.
“I am Beloveye, the god of the sea.”
Wyatt’s mouth fell open.
“Why on earth is the god of the sea in this imperial palace...?”
Then Wyatt wiggled his eyebrows and asked again.
“Did you come because of Belcheria?”
“...”
Behind Beloveye, the cries of Muha, who was being dragged away by the royal knights, could be heard.
While he turned his head to look at it, Wyatt observed Beloveye’s profile.
Although Wyatt had never been defeated by size, the sea god possessed an overwhelming physique.
He had seen a painting of Beloveye from hundreds of years ago in Lacrahan's study.
Beloveye, wielding a trident as massive as his own body and his muscular frame pacifying the sea, was a sight that, even as a fellow man, he couldn't help but admire.
"Amazing."
Wyatt muttered to himself, then, when his eyes met Beloveye's, he craned his neck like a giraffe.
"Do you believe I'm a god?"
Beloveye asked, and Wyatt nodded, his neck almost falling off.
It was quite innocent.
Beloveye exhaled briefly and said,
“Yes. Then let’s get straight to the point. I’m here to tell you why Bercheria approached Lacrahan.”
Wyatt raised his caterpillar-like eyebrows and asked.
“Huh?”
Beloveye’s lips twisted upward.
“Do you believe there is such a thing as coincidence in this world?”
“...Huh?”
“Coincidences continue, and that becomes love that endures no trials or tribulations?”
“...Uh, that...”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Ah, um.”
Wyatt blinked his small eyes repeatedly.
Beloveye continued speaking without hesitation, as if he couldn’t even see Wyatt.
“There is no such feeling in this world, Wyatt. When someone becomes obsessed with another person, there is only one reason.”
“What is that?”
“Greed, revenge, anger, jealousy.”
“Ah!”
The moment he heard those words, Wyatt felt like the emotions he had been feeling were finally being sorted out.
In fact, if you think about it, it was after Bercheria appeared that Lacrahan began to neglect his people.
“Yes, that’s when everything started to go wrong.”
Beloveye waited for a moment as Wyatt muttered to himself.
Then Beloveye held a bottle of red wine in front of Wyatt.
“You just have to feed this to Lacrahan. If you feed it, all the truth will be revealed to you.”
Wyatt accepted the wine with a blank look.
“Really?”
Beloveye smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“So, is this a joke?”
***
When Laurent pushed the bottle in front of Bercheria, the red liquid sloshed around in the large bottle.
“Drink this and I’ll tell you about Emperor Gerard.”
“...”
Bercheria just stared at the bottle and said nothing.
Laurent, waiting for her answer, wet his parched lips with his tongue.
It was difficult to guess what Bercheria’s expressionless face meant.
His lips were constantly dry from nervousness.
“You don’t like alcohol?”
Bercheria slowly raised her gaze and met Laurent’s crimson eyes.
Her clear, golden eyes briefly studied Laurent, then brushed past him and rested in space.
“I’ve never thought about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alcohol. I’ve never thought about whether I like it or not.”
“Ah.”
Laurent stared blankly at Bercheria, then snickered and smiled.
Why was he so nervous, like an idiot?
Still, he had always thought he knew Bercheria well.
He wasn’t dismissing the time he spent with her as meaningless.
“Bercheria.”
“Yes.”
“Looking back, I feel like I haven’t been acting like myself enough.”
Bercheria raised her beautiful, arched eyebrows, then gently opened them again.
“Never.”
When Laurent looked at her, she lifted her shoulders slightly and added,
“I did think you might be sick, though.”
Laurent burst into hearty laughter.
Then, the tension melted away, and his expression took on a characteristic kindness and composure.
“Alcohol is a good foundation for any story.”
Two small, long wine glasses emerged from under his cloak.
Laurent placed one in front of Bercheria and the other in front of himself and poured wine into them.
“It’s come to this anyway. I was so nervous. Let me tell you what I want to do.”
Laurent gently placed the long stems of the wine glasses between his fingers and pushed them forward toward Bercheria.
“Alcohol even softens the feelings between people.”
The half-filled glass rippled like seawater.
“Just have one. Then you’ll change your mind.”
Laurent added casually, as if nothing had happened.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t drink.”
He smiled, raising his glass in the air.
“Bless my goddess.”
And then he drained his glass in one gulp.
Bercheria looked at the wine in front of her, then she too took it and downed it in one gulp.
A smile spread across Laurent's lips as she stared at her empty glass.
"How is it? Isn't it incredibly delicious?"
"It is."
Laurent poured himself another glass of wine, then shook the bottom of his glass in a circular motion.
“I said I’d tell you the story of Gerard while we drank, but the truth is, it’s Bercheria.”
Laurent smiled, his red eyes as warm as the sun.
“I wanted to tell you the truth about Lacrahan.”
Bercheria’s face changed for the first time.
“Lacrahan?”
Laurent nodded bitterly.
“As you know, I was born with red hair. I can read and hear the language of the gods.”
Bercheria had heard this before.
“That’s largely why I came to Periat with Beloveye. Beloveye hates humans and doesn’t want to communicate with them.”
“I see.”
“That might be why he liked Bercheria more.”
Laurent studied Bercheria’s expression, but her face had returned to its impassive state except when he mentioned Lacrahan’s name.
“On my way here to Periat, I heard a lot of stories about Lacrahan from Beloveye and the Supreme Being.”
“...The Supreme Being? Did you meet him?”
“I guess so. But, well, that’s not important. I’m talking about the truths I learned from Beloveye.”
Laurent pushed his half-filled wine glass in front of her and leaned forward.
“Bercheria. Do you think there’s such a thing as true love in this world?”
Bercheria’s gaze remained steady on Lauren.
“That true love is happening to me right now, you idiot,” she seemed to be saying.
Laurent cleared his throat a few times to clear his mind.
Then, focusing again, he spoke.
“Do you really believe that from the very beginning, the god Lacrahan fell in love with you, a human. Was it love at first sight?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Of course.”
Laurent blinked deeply, closing his eyes before opening them again.
“Bercheria. Of course, you were beautiful, but are you someone with everything a god could choose?”
Bercheria's eyes were shaking slightly.
"Shall I tell you why the god Lacrahan is obsessed with you, a human?"
Laurent cleared his throat a few times to clear his mind.
Then, focusing again, he spoke.
“Do you really believe that from the very beginning, the god Lacrahan fell in love with you, a human. Was it love at first sight?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Of course.”
Laurent blinked deeply, closing his eyes before opening them again.
“Bercheria. Of course, you were beautiful, but are you someone with everything a god could choose?”
Bercheria's eyes were shaking slightly.
"Shall I tell you why the god Lacrahan is obsessed with you, a human?"
"..."
"Bercheria. I'm sorry, but there is no true love in this world. It always has another purpose."
Lauren filled Bercheria's empty glass to the brim with wine.
Then he offered it to her again.
"Lacrahan wants to use you to become a god again, Bercheria."
Laurent's fingertips, which had been pushing the wine glass, collided with Bercheria's white knuckles, which were lying defenselessly on the table.
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